Doctors find tapeworm in Sydney rocker's brain

The lead singer of Sydney punk band Frenzal Rhomb has had a pig tapeworm removed from his brain after eating a contaminated vegetarian burrito in Central America.

Jay Whalley told fans the reason for the cancellation of the band's recent tour in a post on their Facebook page last night.

The former Triple J radio host said doctors had found a small tumour in his brain after he suffered two seizures after a performance in January, but didn't know what the "alien" was until after they removed it this month.

Whalley said he couldn't understand how he could get a pig tapeworm in his brain when he was a vegetarian.

He paraphrased the doctors' explanation of how the parasite made it into his skull for fans online.

"So the tapeworm lives in pig flesh … the pig is killed and the meat undercooked and eaten by old mate," he said.

Frenzal Rhomb's Jay Whalley performs at the Big Day Out in 2012. (AAP)

"Old mate grows a tapeworm in his intestine which eventually produces eggs.

"Once in my stomach they never become tapeworms but they migrate into the muscle, most of the time causing no problem and you'll never know it's there, the only place you'll have problems is if they make it to your brain or eyes.

"Once in the brain the body reacts by sealing it in a kind of cocoon or cyst where it quite happily lived for 4 f---ing years!

"It's only when it dies that the body has some kind of inflammatory response resulting in swelling which in turn lead to the seizures."

Whalley is now out of hospital and on the mend after two post-operation infections.

"Now, let the jokes begin," he said, before suggesting new nicknames such as Notorious P.I.G., Jabe and S--- for Brains.